Unflocked The Real Deal

Official deal stories rarely include what it was like to live through them.

Share your perspective anonymously to help make those experiences visible.

The research

One story does not stand in for anyone else.

This bilingual research gathers lived experience from people who carried risk, shaped a decision or worked inside an integration. Contributors decide what to share and how to tell it.

Stories are interpreted in aggregate, not from individual narratives. No sales or advisory follow-up is connected to a contribution.

Method credit. The Real Deal uses participatory narrative inquiry and self-signification: contributors tell a short story in their own words and position it themselves on a small number of visual scales. Read the research ethics and methods.

Contribute

Choose the seat you occupied, then share what you saw.

Choose the seat closest to the experience you want to reflect on. If you held more than one seat across different deals, you are welcome to contribute a separate story for each.

DEAL

Inside the deal

Structuring, financing, and advisory: you were building or advising on the transaction itself.

Open form EXEC

In the leadership seat

You made the call, or shaped it, from the C-suite or the boardroom, and carried the weight of what came next.

Open form LEAD

Inside the integration

You were executing from within the combined organisation, figuring out how to become one company from two.

Open form

Each link opens a separate SimpleSurvey contribution form. It looks different from this site by design. Allow 15 to 30 minutes for the core contribution; the story itself takes about five minutes and can be spoken or typed.

What your story makes possible

Patterns are visible only when stories can be viewed together.

Across the three seats, stories can make visible where trust held or frayed, what drained or restored people, and which ordinary-looking moments changed what followed. Your story does not stand in for anyone else. It adds one perspective to a field learning from lived experience rather than official accounts alone.

Your story stays anonymous. You decide what to share. No names or identifying details are needed, and you can leave out anything that feels sensitive. Story data is collected and stored on servers located in Canada, operated by the Canadian research platform SimpleSurvey.

Before you share

Frequently asked questions.

If you are in the middle of a deal or an integration, you are likely bound by a Non-Disclosure Agreement. You should be. These are the research safeguards to consider before contributing.

I signed an NDA. Can I still participate?

Only share what you are comfortable and permitted to share. Leave out names, confidential details and anything that could identify a deal, person or organisation. This research guidance is not legal advice; consult your own legal counsel if you are uncertain about your obligations.

Why should I share this?

Your contribution adds a lived perspective to patterns official deal accounts rarely show. Stories are interpreted in aggregate, so no one account is asked to stand in for the experience of others.

What if I am not sure a detail is safe to share?

Leave it out. A short story at the level of detail that feels right to you is enough; additional context is optional.

How do you ensure my story cannot be traced back to me?

Contributors decide what to include. Do not use names or identifying details. Findings are interpreted and shared in aggregate rather than as individual narratives.

Will I be notified when the findings are published?

Findings will be published openly through the research initiative and LinkedIn. The live initiative also provides a separate notification-list option that is not connected to any contribution.

Where does this information go?

Story data is collected and stored in Canada through SimpleSurvey, the Canadian research platform used for the contribution forms.

What happens after I submit?

Your story joins the research sample for aggregate interpretation. No sales or advisory follow-up is connected to a contribution.

Can I remove my contribution after I submit?

No. Contributions carry no names or contact details, so a removal request could only be matched to a story if you pointed to which one is yours. That would undo the anonymity the research depends on. Leave out anything you might want back, and take your time before you submit.

Non. Les contributions ne contiennent ni nom ni coordonnées. Une demande de retrait ne pourrait être associée à un récit que si vous indiquiez lequel est le vôtre. Cela compromettrait l’anonymat sur lequel repose la recherche. Omettez tout élément que vous pourriez vouloir récupérer et prenez votre temps avant de soumettre votre contribution.

This FAQ describes the research methodology and intent of The Real Deal initiative. It does not constitute legal advice regarding your specific Non-Disclosure Agreement. For the full research ethics statement, methodology notes and information about the researcher, read Research ethics and methods.